Alamo Diaries
by Izumi Ryu
Summary: Part of Lord Archive's Diaries series. Undergoing major revisions. Digimon trying to escape a gang stumble on one of the digital world's legends, and find they are part of it with the human children caught in the middle of it.
1. Riverwalk Battle

Six child digimon stood within an alley leading out of a massive city. The ragtag group looked around, nervously, trying to find a means to get away from their pursuers. The golem among the group considered it just pure luck that they managed to pass through the city without getting caught by the thugs chasing them. Their pursuers strolled through the city without any problems from others, but there was a sense that they didn't 'own' this place like most of the other towns they've been. The child-level digimon hoped it meant that they have reached the outskirts of the gang's territory.

"There's a temple not too far from here, Gotsumon," what looked like a small collection of gears spoke up, referring to an ancient building in the distance. "We could seek sanctuary there."

Gotsumon nodded, looking back over the remainder of the group. Gotsumon had trusted the Hagurumon's judgment for a long time. He would not question it now. "Whatever we do, I don't know how much time we have until we're spotted," another voice from above the group informed. The tan-furred hamster with bat wings for ears, Patamon, continued to fly almost backwards as the group continued forward.

Floramon looked up at Gotsumon with anticipation. Her arms with flowers and a stamen for hands wrapped around a white-furred dog, who looked more curious than scared. With her long ears, you could easily confuse the Terriermon for a rabbit.

The one Gotsumon worried about the most was actually the oldest of the group, a fur covered elephant-like animal with smoke for legs, stubbed arms, and an even shorter trunk. The Tapirmon glared back into the city, waiting to ambush their followers. "Tapirmon, don't think about it. If we don't run, we'll all die, even Terriermon," Gotsumon told him, taking advantage of his responsibility towards the youngest member of the group. The tapir digimon backed up and scowled, knowing the golem was right and hating it.

"Let's go," Gotsumon said, as the group made a break for the temple. They dashed through the plains on the outskirts of the city, hoping to get as much distance as possible between them and the thugs. It wouldn't be five minutes before they covered about a quarter of the distance to the temple, and Gotsumon looked back to notice the figures that looked like cacti dressed in sombreros and cloth ponchos. Without legs, they looked like ghosts. Gotsumon swore to himself, knowing they were as good as caught if they didn't move faster. The Ponchomon effortlessly closed in on the group, gliding across the open plain.

"Sparkling Thunder!" a feminine voice cried out from the direction of the temple. A lightning bolt struck one of the Ponchomon, causing it to disperse to data much to the group's amazement.

"Get in," a robotic voice told the group. The Gotsumon looked at the entrance to see a mechanical beetle standing by the temple. The group thought it would be best to listen to the Kokuwamon's order, rushing into the entrance while the Ponchomon scattered in different directions out of fear and confusion. After taking a few steps into the temple, they turned around to see the Kokuwamon and a weird red creature that looked like a cross between a rabbit and a lizard with a peacock-styled tail walk in.

"You guys are lucky. If they weren't so easily scared, we would have been done for. So, what was that all about?" the Elecmon asked, looking over the group of child digimon with suspicion.

"Long story short, Revolmon found us and decided we would be good target practice, then sent his thugs after us when we escaped," the Gotsumon spoke up, walking forward.

"Which Revolmon? There's gotta be thousands of them," Kokuwamon explained.

The refugees looked at each other in confusion. "You have not heard of Pail Dramon's gang?" the Hagurumon asked, turning to their hosts. "They've only dominated the region as long as most of us remember."

"We haven't had any problems since we eliminated Nanomon." The machine shrugged.

"We must be out of their territory then," Hagurumon said, before doing a double take after realizing what Kokuwamon just said. "Wait..._you_ eliminated Nanomon!" The two digimon nodded. "That's not possible unless you were...destined digimon?"

"Yes, our human partners are at home on their world now," Elecmon told them. Many of the refugees stared in shock, wondering if they really stumbled upon two of the digiimon that have become legends in their world. Tapirmon just kept a reserved expression, really skeptical of the two digimon.

Kokuwamon started to walk down the hall. "Come with me. I'll show you where you can rest. Just do us a favor and stay in there."

* * *

Alamo Diaries  
Entry 01: Riverwalk Battle  
Author: Izumi Ryu  
Diaries Universe Concept: Lord Archive  
Disclaimer: Digimon belongs to Toei Animation. With the exception of certain characters, the new characters are mine. General Thomas and the Oklahoma children were created by Lord Archive, and are currently under the possession of Custom Magnum.

* * *

A cool breeze passed over a schoolyard basketball court on what would normally be an unseasonably warm day for late October. The sound of the ball pounding against the paved gravel court echoed throughout the area, with kids cheering on two players. One of them was an African-American kid that was trying anything he could to get past his opponent as he dribbled the ball. He wore a gold Lakers t-shirt with red shorts. He tried everything from fakes to 360 spins to crossovers to try to get past his defender.

The defender was a brown-headed white boy that wore a black Spurs t-shirt and blue jeans. It was hard to believe that the jeans weren't hampering the white boy's footwork as he kept pace with the ball-handler. No matter what happened he would stay in front of his opponent. When his opponent attempted a fake, his arm would go in that direction, but the rest of his body wouldn't move, or take a step in the other direction as he read the ball-handler's movements. He was definitely taller than the ball-handler, but you could tell that the only part of his size he would take advantage of was his reach. He preferred to play in motion rather than use his height to block shots.

The dark kid tried another crossover, facing his defender. He crossed once, attempting to fake his opponent out. The defender's body seemed to shift as if he was going to follow it. However, when he sent the ball in the other direction, following through on the crossover, the white kid's right hand whipped forward and knocked the ball away as he stepped back into the other direction. The dark kid attempted to recover the ball, but the white kid let his momentum carry him through, getting in between the ball and his opponent. The white kid recovered the ball and just held onto it. The crowd of kids around them crowed at the sight.

"You've gotten better, Rich. You were just a scrub the last time I faced you," the dark kid said, breathing hard after the display. He had a hard time believing that the defender did a number on him, after shaking off many that have tried to do just what he did.

"I had to improve one of these days," Richard shrugged like it was nothing, but showed no real signs of cockiness.

Dwayne just shook his head with a smirk. "Man, am I glad to see you back," he remarked.

"Well, I'm glad to get out of 'Misery'," Richard replied.

"Misery?" Dwayne asked, confused. "You always seem miserable now."

Richard shook his head. "It's my dad's nickname for Missouri, now. He actually agrees with me that moving to Saint Louis was a mistake."

"Ouch." Dwayne cringed, gaining a hint of his old friend's current attitude. He tried to reconcile his memory of a young grinning boy and the sour preteen before him, having some trouble believing they were the same person. Even now Richard seemed serious and reserved, and this was what he was like relaxed.

"You dressing up as Ryu like normal tonight?" Dwayne asked, deciding to change the subject. He remembered how Richard always liked to dress as the Street Fighter for Halloween.

"I'm not dressing up for Halloween. It just seems stupid," Richard replied.

"Don't be such a spoiled sport," a female voice said from the crowd. Dwayne and Richard turned to see a blonde white female approaching them, a friend of Dwayne's that moved here shortly after Richard's family moved away. She's the only other person besides Dwayne that Richard would open up to even slightly. The girl was wearing jeans herself with a navy shirt. "It's fun to dress up."

"To each their own." Richard shrugged. "I still have to go down to the Riverwalk with my dad and sisters tonight. I'm not looking forward to it honestly."

"Why not ask your father if we can come along?" Rita suggested. "Besides, I don't mind younger kids."

"She has a point. My parents shouldn't mind." Dwayne shrugged.

"We'll see. I'll see y'all later," Richard said with a sigh. He dropped the ball and went through the crowd, rushing home.

"Bye, Rich," Dwayne said, as he watched Richard disappear through the crowd. "I'm worried about him, Rita."

"What scares me is that if you hadn't told me what he really was like, I'd be like the other creeps here," Rita said with a sigh, looking over at the guys who leered wearily at Richard as he walked past them.

* * *

A couple of Mexican-American children were ducking behind fences and other obstructions, hiding while trying to get home from school. Any onlooker would think they were suspicious, but neither of them cared. The older child looked like he was about ten years old. He wore a black shirt and jeans. He was carefully stepping, not trying to make a sound, as was the younger girl that was with him. She was wearing a pink striped shirt with the same colored shorts. The two watched several older teenagers and young adults as they passed through, hoping that they wouldn't be noticed. All of them wore black clothing, marking them as part of the same gang.

The boy sighed as they came to an open spot where the gang members would definitely notice them if they walked through, their home only several feet away. They had two options stay hidden until the gang members went away, which may take hours, or make a break for it. He reached into his pocket and took out his house key, seeing no other way out of the situation.

One of the teenagers suddenly looked down the road before flashing the rest of them a signal. At that, the young men scattered in different directions. The boy put an arm out in front of the girl to make sure she didn't move, as to not draw attention to them by any of the men that passed them. "Let's go," the boy told the girl, who seemed confused about what just happened until a white SAPD car pass them by. Both children doubt it was anyone from the gang unit, but they could take what help they could get. The boy looked around as they reached the front porch of their home and slid the key into the bolt lock. Just as he turned the key, he opened the door quickly and rushed inside with his sister before closing the door behind him, locking it as quickly as he could.

The boy walked into the den and flopped down onto the couch. While he seemed disturbed almost all the time, his body language gave away more than usual. The girl looked at her brother with a look of concern. "Jorge, are you okay?" she asked.

Jorge saw the look in her eyes and shook his head. There were several thoughts and emotions flowing through his head with no way for him to express them, nor did he really want to. "It's nothing, Victoria," Jorge told the girl, not wanting to trouble the girl with what he was thinking. There were more important things for him to focus on now.

Victoria didn't buy it, but there was nothing she could do. As much as she wished to, she could not understand her brother. She just wanted to help him in some way.

"Go do your homework," Jorge told her. "I have things to do." Victoria simply nodded and walked to her room to do just that. It was less that he really wanted to be left alone, but he really had chores to get done on top of his homework. He didn't mind it too much, since it gave him a distraction from his own thoughts.

* * *

A caucasian boy walked out of the barn. He seemed a bit big under the flannel shirt he wore, but that came more from his build than anything, something that would happen to you after doing hard work everyday for five years or so. He wouldn't complain about that, he enjoyed it to some extent. Of course, he'd rather play football like any other boy, but living out in the Texas Hill Country in general wasn't too bad for him. It beat living in the city.

Clint turned his head as he heard the sound of a circular saw ripping through some wood. His father was working on some repair job for a neighbor again. He started working odd jobs to supplement the money they earn from their crop and livestock. No one really made enough money on family farms anymore. Many families had to get a job in town just to supplement what they earn from their farms. His father refused to do so and settled for doing odd jobs to stay close to home, where he could spend more time with his family.

He opened the door into his house quietly, knowing his sister was still asleep. The boy's mother just got off of the phone as he walked in. "Who was that?" the boy asked, curious to who the woman was talking to.

"The neighbors invited us to a Halloween party tonight." The woman sighed. "I shouldn't go, it wouldn't be a good idea to bring Tina along."

"Mom, you need to get out more. I can stay and watch Tina for you tonight," Clint suggested. He had a good idea which neighbors invited them to the party, so he wasn't really interested. Some city folk moved out to a property next door to them. They don't do much with the land itself, and the father commutes to work. They have a son that's younger than him, but he doesn't know anything about them. Clint guessed it was a sign of the times as people from the city move out to find a quiet place to live.

"Are you sure?"

Clint nodded. "You and Dad enjoy yourselves. I can take care of Tina and if anything goes wrong, you won't be too far for me to call you."

* * *

"So what do we do next?" Floramon asked as the group sat around the room Kokuwamon set aside for them. There was a general sense among the group that they couldn't hide here forever. One day they would have to continue on and try to live like normal, but how would they start?

"I have no clue. I guess we just wait a couple of days for things to blow over. Hopefully, Revolmon will give up on us and we'll be left alone," Gotsumon spoke up, pacing around the room. The room fell silent with a bit of uneasiness. Gotsumon seemed disturbed, as he replayed the image of the Elecmon frying the Ponchomon that was chasing them. Suddenly, he turned around and punched the stone-bricked wall out of frustration, not even denting it. Everyone with the exception of Tapirmon looked at Gotsumon with wide eyes.

"Punching a wall is not going to solve anything," Tapirmon muttered, before asking, "Now, what's your problem?"

"This is just pathetic. We've been running from those guys for weeks, and in the end, all it took was for one of them to be killed and it scares the others away. If we had done that, it might have saved us a lot of trouble."

"It wouldn't have worked," Hagurumon reassured him. "Elecmon and Kokuwamon are chosen digimon. They're stronger than us, and if we were able to kill one of the Ponchomon, they wouldn't have been scared of it."

"You put too much faith in those two," Tapirmon remarked. "Besides, Hagurumon's right, it wouldn't have the same result."

Gotsumon looked down. "I know. I just hate not being strong enough to keep us out of trouble."

"Live another day and you will become stronger," Tapirmon said. "Trust me, I know how you feel Gotsumon. I want to be stronger just so I can get back at those guys, but if we don't survive now, it won't happen."

Gotsumon nodded before looking up around the others. However, something didn't seem right. There were only four other child digimon sitting in the room with him. He tried to figure out who was missing. Then, he mentally kicked himself for not realizing it sooner. "Where's Terriermon?" the golem asked, even more frustrated.

Outside the room in the halls of the temple, Terriermon walked silently. Her curiosity got the better of her and she just wanted to see the rest of this place for herself. When she came up to another room hearing voices talking inside, she stopped and pressed herself against a wall by the door and listened in on the conversation.

"These six digimon must be for the new team," a voice she recognized as Elecmon said. "I mean, Benjamin did leave six D3s in the portal room."

"Honestly, I do not even want to consider the possibility," Kokuwamon's monotone voice replied. "I just don't want to see anymore innocents involved in this."

"They look like they've been through enough to handle it. I wouldn't be surprised..."

"I'm not letting them near that portal room. They were trying to get away from danger. I don't want to put them into even more."

Terriermon chuckled silently as she listened to the conversation. It was hard to believe that she herself could possibly be a chosen digimon like those two, but there was something else that was tempting, the idea of having a human partner that she could consider a close friend. Honestly, she enjoyed the company of the other six, but she was younger than all of them. She couldn't really relate to anyone, no matter how much Floramon tried to be a sister to her.

With that thought in mind, she continued to walk down the halls. If she got to the portal room, maybe she could find a way to the human world. She thought about going to get the others, but who would believe her? They would eventually notice she was gone and start searching for her anyway.

* * *

The Riverwalk was a man-made divergence of the San Antonio River. It had walkways running on both sides of the river with several bridges to go across. There were ferries that floated up and down the river. Stores, restaurants and clubs were along the river with the Rivercenter Mall being a main entrance to the area. Right now, the sidewalks were crowded, filled with families that have children trick-or-treating or party-goers trying to get to one of the clubs that lined the river.

Richard's family had just left the Rivercenter Mall, traveling with the crowd and traveling business to business with the other families. Rita walked alongside Richard's sisters, dressed in a costume that had bird-like legs and wings and wearing a mock breastplate. The younger girls seemed happy with Rita, talking to her like a big sister.

"She's good with kids," Richard's father remarked, a plump middle-aged man. He was still wearing his work clothes, having left for the Riverwalk as soon as he got home from work.

"She baby-sits for several of the families in our neighborhood," Dwayne explained. He decided against wearing a costume for Halloween, not wanting Richard to feel completely out of place. "She seems to like it, but I think she's just making up for not having any brothers or sisters."

"She can have my sisters," Richard remarked.

"RICHARD!" The older man yelled. Richard tensed. Mr. Thompson glared at his son. "You better lighten up."

_Look who's talking,_ Richard thought, deciding it was safer to shut up.

"Ouch," Dwayne cringed, after hearing the man's deep yell. "I'd like my eardrums. Thank you."

Richard remained silent and tense for a while, then slowed his pace down so that he was behind his father. Dwayne followed him to see if he would be okay. Rita excused herself from the two younger girls and took a couple of steps back to join them. Then, the white boy began to relax. Richard said. "It's been years since I've been here. Ever since that river parade for the Spurs back in 1999."

"You mean the asterisk season?" Dwayne asked, more to be annoying than anything.

"Watch it, bud," Richard replied, glaring at Dwayne. He like many Spurs fans took serious offense when Phil Jackson, the Lakers' coach, called the season an asterisk season due to it being a shortened season. That was the first time the Spurs won the NBA Title.

"Hey, at least they earned it last season," Dwayne said, backing away and holding his hands up, trying to defend himself. Dwayne started to see where Richard got his attitude.

Richard sighed, as he relaxed. Thinking over what to say next. "Do you remember what happened during that parade?"

Dwayne realized what Richard was talking about. Even though it was four years ago, he remembered it clearly. During the parade, the water started to splash around violently. Most of the ferries nearly capsized due to the sudden change in the water. There wasn't supposed to be such choppy water here, but Dwayne and Richard noticed something then that the others couldn't see. Strange beings were swimming in the water or standing on the surrounding buildings. They seemed to be the cause of it, but no one else seemed to notice. In fact, a vast majority didn't see anything that could have caused it. "Yeah, I remember it," Dwayne said. "All too well."

"You guys weren't the only ones that saw weird monsters," Rita remarked.

Richard nodded, reassured that he wasn't the only one going crazy. "I just want to know why I have a strange feeling of Déjà vu. Like something like that event is going to happen again."

Dwayne and Rita looked at each other after Richard had said that. Then, they turned to look at the boy and nodded, confirming they had the same strange feeling. The three began to look around cautiously for any signs of anything like that happening. "At least, I'm not the only one," Richard said with a sigh.

Before they could even blink, the three older children heard screams coming from further down the walkway. The noise grew louder as the crowd from further away seemed like it was rushing towards them in an attempt to find a way out of here, some people even falling into the water as they were shoved out of the way. Dwayne immediately grabbed Rita and pulled her along with him towards the outer wall of the nearby store as the crowd with them turned to run. Richard wasn't as lucky as he felt an arm hit him in the mid-section and shove him out of the way. As he was shoved out towards the middle, he swore he saw strange orange and green shapes that looked like ghosts. He swore he saw the debris from the damage they were causing, broken tables and merchandise from dealer carts flying through the air. Then he suddenly felt cold as he hit the water, only considering himself lucky that he didn't land flat on the surface. He quickly got his footing on the concrete bottom and stood up in the shallow water, probably only four feet deep. Much of the stampede of people cleared as he waded toward the sidewalk and pulled himself out, completely soaked.

"Rich, are you okay?" Dwayne asked as he rushed to his friend, now sitting on his knees at the edge of the walkway.

"I'll manage," Richard said as he slowly stood up under his own power. Then, he looked towards the ghost shapes he saw earlier, Rita walking up to the boys as she looked at the same monsters causing the havoc. "Not again," Richard muttered, watching the ghosts rush toward them.

* * *

As Kokuwamon walked out of the room, he jumped back and bumped into Elecmon just as five of the child digimon from before rushed past him. He suddenly yelled at the group running off, "Hey! I told you to stay in that room!" However, the group didn't seem to listen as they continued down the hall.

"One of them is missing," Elecmon noticed, catching the robot's attention. "I think it was the Terriermon."

"Great," the machine replied sarcastically, before rushing off where the group had ran to. He had to head them off at the portal room somehow. Even if they were chosen digimon, if they appeared on the other side, the human military could go ballistic.

Terriermon had already found the room with a shimmering blue air, swirling in one place, as if drawn in by a small black hole. Looking around, the room didn't have much in it, just six pedestals where some strange devices of different colors were placed. One of them had the screen flashing bright light from it, while the others remained silent. The dog approached the device before touching it. "Is this the D3 they were talking about?" Terriermon asked.

"Terriermon!" she heard Tapirmon yell, obviously angry at her for running off. "What do you think you're doing!"

"Just looking around. Nothing looks dangerous in here," Terriermon remarked. Then, she noticed the other D3s had become active as the group entered the room. The D3 she held even started making a high pitched beeping sound, as if something was going to happen that shouldn't "Uh, ohhh..." she said as she began to believe that something was wrong.

Kokuwamon rushed into the entrance as a bright flash of light filled the room. He was forced to cover his eyes to avoid a sensory overload for a few seconds, but when the light subsided, the six child digimon that had entered the room had disappeared, along with the D3s. Kokuwamon sighed. "It starts."

On the other side of the portal, in the human world, the military officers in the supercomputer room of Fort Sill, Oklahoma. Major General Hank Thomas was already getting frustrated as it was. Just minutes ago, some digimon had realized over San Antonio, and he couldn't even find his own son to take care of it, with the other members of the Oklahoma team being busy with other priorities.

"Sir, we've got an incoming message," one of the technicians reported from a terminal. Then, the technician cursed out loud. "No, it's being rerouted!"

"That doesn't make sense," Thomas replied, even more frustrated that before.

"You're telling me. One moment something was coming through the gate, then it got sent southward, literally." The technician was frantically trying to recover the 'message', but to no avail.

"Southward? Can you track where it went?"

"Yes, sir." The technician started to type a few commands to trace where the previous message went, then went silent for a few seconds. "It went through the gate that opened over downtown San Antonio, sir."

General Thomas could only come up with one reason for that to happen, another team had been activated. However, all he could do was send some kind of support to the new group. The children here were out of the question. San Antonio had plenty of military facilities between Fort Sam Houston and two other air force bases, but neither of them really intended for combat use. "I hate to say this, but they're on their own."

"Sir? We can't leave San Antonio to..." another officer spoke up.

"I wasn't talking about the civilians!" the general interrupted, before taking a couple of breaths to calm down. "There's not much we can do to support the new digi-destined in San Antonio." The last comment left the officers confused even more.

* * *

The confused children stood their ground as the 'cacti ghosts' rushed towards them. As the ghosts approached, Richard grabbed Rita and jumped off towards one of the buildings as the first one swung a bat down at them, smashing the concrete beneath it. Dwayne side-stepped the same bat. Then, the ghost turned towards him and swung again, forcing Dwayne to back up. After a few steps and realizing he was close to the edge of the walkway by the water, he dove to the side to dodge the next swing. He swore he heard two impacts as he hit the concrete. Looking back, he noticed a second ghost tried to attack him from behind and ended up hitting his ally just as his ally hit him, causing them both to disperse into data. "That works," Dwayne said, gaping at the place the ghost were.

Richard scrambled to his feet after he landed with Rita and stepped over the girl to stand in front of her. Another ghost tried to swing its bat down at Richard, only for Richard to reach up with one hand and catch it. _About time I learn to block,_ Richard thought. His thoughts were suddenly interrupted as he felt sharp pain throughout his stomach. A large fist had just smashed into him, making him double over with his arms over his stomach and seething in pain. "Richard!" the boy heard Rita yell as he crumbled.

"Rich! Get away!" Dwayne called as he rushed behind his friends and grabbed the girl, pulling her out of the way. It seemed as if the ghost was ready to finish Richard off there, but froze when he saw the boy glaring at him with a look that promised death. He suddenly pushed himself up with his legs and jumped back, getting some distance between the ghost that hit him. Richard had never got into fights. When bullies tried to push him around, he just took his beatings and let things move on, which kept him out of trouble. Now, he had never wanted so much to rip something limb from limb.

Looking around his surroundings, Richard looked through the debris left from the chaos and noticed a steel pole that was sitting on the ground from one of the vendor booths and just within reach. If he could get to it before the creature could rush him, he could probably challenge it on even footing. Without thinking about it, he lunged for the pole and picked it up, which while lengthy, he found it long enough for him to use easily. The ghost had rushed toward him as he lunged for the pole and swung down towards Richard, just as Richard swung the pole upward and blocked the bat.

"Rich, I swear you're nuts," Dwayne muttered, looking around for anything that could be used as a weapon, needing to help his friend in anyway possible.

"Something's different about him, it's like he's snapped," Rita said, noticing the intense anger in Richard's eyes.

"You would, too," Dwayne remarked, picking up a nearby board broken off from another vendor cart. He immediately dropped it when he saw another ghost about to attack Richard from behind. "Rich! Behind you!" Dwayne called out.

Before Richard could look, gunfire echoed through the canyon of buildings. The Ponchomon in front of him dispersed into data. Then, he turned around to see more data floating and dissipating, having been killed by gunfire.

"SAPD finally gets here," Dwayne remarks as several men dressed in police uniforms rushed into the vicinity. More gunfire echoed through the area as the police engaged the mob of creatures.

"I don't think it'll be enough. We practically need the freakin' army down here," Richard told him as he rushed back to the group with one arm over his torso. "There's just too many, but something's not right. As chaotic as they seemed to be, they're looking for something." Richard looked over as several Ponchomon searched every inch of the area.

Richard leaned his head back and sighed in frustration. He had already expected a bad day, but nothing like this. He just expected to be stuck with his sisters all night. Instead, he was stuck with his friends where they could easily be killed.

"There has to be something we can do," Dwayne spoke up.

"All we can do is find a way out of here, but I don't think that's possible considering this place is crawling with those things," Richard told him. "I wonder if any have reached the street level."

Then, he noticed something above him, what looked like streaks of light shooting down towards them. "What's that?" Richard remarked, getting Rita's and Dwayne's attention. They looked at the same streaks of light, then, noticed three of them shoot off in different directions, with the remaining three still shooting towards them.

"Get back," Dwayne ordered as the three lights shot down towards the walkway. The children covered their eyes as the impact kicked up some dust and debris that had already been spread everywhere. Even the Ponchomon stopped as their attention was averted towards where the lights had impacted. When the dust cleared, three small creatures stood where the lights impacted.

"I am so gonna kill Terriermon next time I see her," Gotsumon remarked, before getting smacked in the back of the head.

"You won't do such a thing," Floramon growled dangerously.

Hagurumon sighed. "If you two would stop bickering, maybe you would notice we are caught in the middle of a mob of Ponchomon."

The two other child-level digimon fell silent as they became aware of their surroundings, seeing the wreckage and the masses of Ponchomon and humans that got left behind. "Uh, oh..." the golem remarked.

"More of them?" Dwayne asked, ready to either dash out of there or jump the three new creatures.

"Don't, Dwayne," Rita finally spoke up, stopping Dwayne from making any drastic moves. "I don't think we need to worry about them. They aren't like the others."

"This isn't good either way," Richard told them. "Those ghost things look like they're ready to attack us." Richard noticed that not all of those glares were aimed at the three creatures that just arrived, but at them as well.

Rita began to look around in a panic. "There's gotta be a way out of here," she said.

"Only one," Richard replied grimly, narrowing his eyes as he looked out towards the mob.

"Through them?" Dwayne asked, as if knowing what Richard was thinking. Richard only nodded in response. "Then, we're doomed."

The mob lunged towards the group of digimon and children, who froze in place as if waiting for their lives to come to an abrupt end. It was frustrating enough to the digimon that they couldn't find a way out of the situation. Enough tension built up between the three that they could think of only one thing to do.

Gotsumon and Hagurumon fired off a barrage of rocks and gears as Floramon sprayed a cloud of pollen over the field. Several Ponchomon suddenly stopped as the cloud spread before either a rock smashed into them, which caused them to disperse upon being hit, or a gear was embedded into them. The ones that were stuck with the gears ended up turning on their comrades and attacking them before another Ponchomon would kill them. Before now, what the three child digimon had done would have caused them to gape in disbelief, but now, they just didn't care, caught in the heat of battle.

"Awww...right!" Dwayne crowed as the attack caused what was left of the group to back off, now afraid of being killed. "I can't believe that just happened."

"I don't think they'll be that lucky again," Rita said, looking at the three digimon now worn out from the onslaught. "We gotta help them somehow."

"How?" Richard asked. "I know how you feel, but we don't stand a chance against those numbers. I had problems with just one of them."

Dwayne glared at Richard. "There's more to this than simple logic, Rich. I don't care if the only thing you can think of is that we dive head first into them, there's gotta be something."

Richard remained silent for a few minutes before he picked up the pole he dropped on the ground earlier. "Grab something to use as a weapon. Those things attack, we step in. Rita, be prepared to get them to safety."

Dwayne and Rita nodded. Dwayne took a look around and found another pole that had broken off from a vendor stand. Both of the boys held their steel poles in front of them, ready to strike at a moment's notice. Just as another wave of attacks rushed towards them, the boys dashed out and jumped over the three digimon. Richard held up his pole as he blocked the punch headed his way, the pole bent towards the boy under the pressure. Dwayne side-stepped his Ponchomon and swung his pole down on the bat and pinned it down, keeping it in place. That Ponchomon dropped his weapon and tried to punch Dwayne, who sidestepped it and let the punch put a hole in the concrete.

The three child digimon looked confused by the humans trying to help them. Neither of them looked like they could actually do much against the mass of adult-level digimon. Then, they noticed the devices attached to the humans belts, the same ones they saw back at the temple before Terriermon got them shunted into this world. "Are they...our human partners?" Gotsumon asked.

"It seems that way," Hagurumon spoke up, not believing that they could actually be chosen digimon.

"Hey, you three," they heard a feminine voice call them from behind. They turned around and saw a girl motioning for them to go with her. "Let's get you out of here."

Gotsumon looked over at the girl, then looked at the boys that protected them. Seeing the two boys trying to defend them made him feel guilty for even thinking of running away. "No."

"What? You can trust me," Rita pleaded.

"I know," Gotsumon said. "That's exactly why I can't run now." Gotsumon turned back to notice both boys' devices were starting to shine and beep in a rather ominous tone. Then, the Gotsumon rushed towards the Ponchomon the darker boy was dealing with. He rammed head first into it and both started to fall towards the water.

"No way," Dwayne remarked as the device on his belt made a high-pitched noise. Before Gotsumon could hit the water, a pillar of light erupted from him, causing everyone to shield their eyes.

"Gotsumon, evolve!" Gotsumon shouted as his body started to change composition from that of solid rock, to a golem of solid ice, growing slightly as the changes take place. "ICEMON!" Just as the evolution finished, both digimon hit the water. Icemon suddenly jumped out and back onto the walkway. "Next," Icemon remarked.

"Stay with the girl," Hagurumon told Floramon as he floated towards Richard. He fired off another gear which embedded itself into the Ponchomon he was holding off. The Ponchomon suddenly turned around, and started to attack one of his comrades, but he was quickly punched through and killed. The new Ponchomon charged down towards the gear. "Stay away!" Hagurumon started to flash a bright light just as the golem did before. "Hagurumon, evolve!"

When the light faded, a small ball with arms and legs and a thunderbolt attached to what could be considered its forehead bolted out towards the attacking Ponchomon. 'THUNDERBALLMON! Thunder Bomber!" The small ball rammed straight into the Ponchomon and electrified it, causing it to disperse into data. "We should hurry and destroy these guys before they do too much damage."

"I'm doing as much as I can here," Icemon griped, firing off balls of ice that exploded and froze all those that came into contact with it. Thunderballmon started firing thunderbolts at the Ponchomon, but as they continued their attack, one Ponchomon managed to slip through and rush towards Rita and Floramon.

"No!" Icemon yelled, about to fire off another Iceball Bomb at the Ponchomon, but Thunderballmon appeared in front of him before he could blink.

"You'll hit them!" Thunderballmon told him, before starting to chase after it. Even if he caught up with the Ponchomon, stopping Icemon made it impossible for him to do so in time.

Floramon was standing her ground as Rita tried to back away. She refused to let this thing get to the girl by any means necessary. Just as the Ponchomon was about to swing, the same bright light that engulfed the other two child digimon did the same for Floramon. Both the Ponchomon and Thunderballmon backed off from the flash, covering their eyes. "Floramon, evolve!" she shouted, all the tension building up as the light subsided. A creature much larger than any of the adult digimon there floated above the ground. It looked like a woman, but her legs were that of a bird, as well as having bird wings, white feathers covering the 'bird' portions of her and a breast plate covering her chest. "HARPYMON!"

"Cool..." Rita mouthed, looking at the new creature that stood in Floramon's place. The harpy glared down at the ghost, who had frozen in place and stared up at the new digimon.

"Wind Seeker!" Harpymon swung an arm, letting out a white 'bladed' beam of wind out. The vacuum ended up slicing the ghost into two before it dissipated. "Not one of you touches a hair on those children," Harpymon growled at the rest of the Ponchomon.

Harpymon's appearance had finally done it. The Ponchomon, scared out of their minds, started to run for the portal that they came through. However, just as they were about there, a barrage of meteors fell from the sky, striking each one of the Ponchomon and causing them to dissipate, save for one. The one remaining looked around in panic before he turned around and found himself gunbarrel to face with a machine that had a revolver for an upper body. Another form, a star that had eyes in the middle of it with arms and legs, stood behind Revolmon.

"Pathetic coward," Revolmon remarked before shooting the lone Ponchomon, killing it instantly.

"Starmon and Revolmon," Icemon hissed, glaring at the two new digimon.

"This is the end of the line for you three," Revolmon remarked. "Once you're dead, we'll find the other three and that will be that."

"Good luck," Harpymon remarked. The three children gathered behind as the digimon either stood or floated in front of the two new enemies.

"Just because you're bigger now doesn't mean you're stronger than us," Starmon told the harpy. "Besides, you're hopeless once those humans are dead."

It was then that Thunderballmon noticed that Revolmon wasn't looking at the digimon, but between them and at the children behind them. "Don't think so," he said as he shot towards Revolmon and slammed into him, letting out a large charge of electricity into the machine, causing Revolmon to scream out loud. Starmon reached over and slapped the ball away, and looked down at his comrade

"Revolmon, are you okay?" Starmon asked, looking visibly concerned.

"Yeah, let's finish them off first," Revolmon said, looking down to where Thunderballmon was batted away, only to see it had devolved to Hagurumon.

"That can wait. Let's get you out of here," Starmon told him, before glaring at the group of digimon and children. Then, he started to jump up to the street level before jumping from building to building.

"No, you don't," Icemon remarked, abut ready to launch a few more Icebomb Balls up in their direction.

"No," Dwayne said, placing an arm in front of the ice golem. "You'll hit civilians up there."

"Awww...man..." Icemon complained, disappointed that he let an opportunity to kill two of the gang's more prominent leaders right there. Then, fatigue set in as the other two adult digimon devolved.

"So, is there anyway we can get an explanation of what just happened?" Richard asked. No one would answer his questions as the police officers that had gone down to help deal with the crowd ran over to the children and pulled out their guns and aimed at them.

"SAPD! FREEZE!" one of the officers shouted.

The children raised their hands in the air, while the digimon stood ready for anything, but didn't move. "Hey, we're the good guys here," Dwayne tried to explain.

"I don't think they'll quite buy that," Richard remarked. He started shivering, still soaked from being thrown into the water. "Even if it is the truth."

* * *

The children sat in the back of the police car, hands restrained behind their backs by cuffs. Richard grimaced as he still felt the effects of taking that punch. At least they had the decency to help dry him up, but his soaked clothing kept him cold. All three of them were wondering what they had done wrong. They were victims of the mob as well, all they did was fight back out of defense. What were they expected to do?

Dwayne turned his head back, looking with a worried expression at the other police car following them. That car held the three digimon that had helped them, which least deserved any sort of punishment. Then, the car following them slowed down and pulled over "What's going on?" Dwayne asked, now suspicious of what was really happening.

It wasn't much longer before the car they were in rolled to a stop, leaving the children with a sense of dread. Then, the officers opened the door to allow the children out. Richard looked up at the building that towered over them in confusion. "Wait, why are we at Santa Rosa Hospital?" Richard asked.

"Don't ask me," one officer asked as he walked up behind Richard and unlocked the cuffs on the boy's arms. He immediately grabbed a wrist and rotated it, before putting the arm back over his sore torso. "We were just told to bring you here to have y'all checked for injuries and take you home. Your parents have been informed, except for your involvement in the fighting."

"Then what happened to the digimon?" Dwayne asked, as he was released from his cuffs.

"You will meet them soon enough.."

The children looked at each other with confused expressions. Then, the officer sighed. "Look, I know you want an explanation and I don't have one. Just get inside and get looked at now, especially you," the officer pointed at Richard. "I'm sure you ended up with a cracked rib or something."

_Master of the obvious,_ Richard thought, looking at the officer as if he was an idiot before turning away.

Rita and Dwayne looked at each other and shrugged before following Richard into the emergency room entrance.

* * *

Richard sat in the waiting room with Rita, now dressed in dry clothes the police brought from his home for him, which hid the bandages wrapped around his chest and holding an ice pack against it.. He took the longest because they needed to take a chest x-ray, but they didn't find any broken ribs or lung damage. He lucked out and escaped with some badly bruised ribs. He would have to stay out of too much physical activity for a month at most. Rita had checked out okay, except for a couple of bruises from Dwayne and Richard pulling her out of danger.

He remained silent as he looked up at the television screen, which was now showing news coverage of the event. He glared at the TV when they said it was nothing more than a mob that got out of hand. Several were injured and the SAPD's SWAT team had to get involved. "Bull shit," Richard said. "There were hundreds of people down there that saw what happened. What's going on?"

"A government cover-up?" Rita suggested. "I'm not one for conspiracy theories, but they could be hiding it prevent a public panic."

"If that's the case," the boy started before looking back up at the screen, which had moved on to cover the weather forecast. "Then what have we gotten ourselves into?"

"I wish I knew," Rita replied.

Dwayne walked into the waiting room. "Hey, what are you guys so gloomy about?" he asked. "I don't know about you, but I'm ready to head home."

"I take it you're fine," Richard remarked as he stood up from his seat, wincing a little from his ribs.

"Hey, _I _didn't even let those things _touch_ me. Why would anything be wrong?" Dwayne asked, holding his arms out to the side to show off.

Richard sighed. He wanted to smack this guy upside the head for his big ego, but he would probably end up hurting himself in the process knowing his luck. "Let's just go, okay? I'm already sick of this place."

The children walked out of the emergency room to see a different police car than the one that showed up earlier. Two different police officers opened the back doors for them to crawl in. "You may have to share a seat though," one of the officers remarked, leaving the children confused. Then they peeked into the door to see the three digimon, sprawled out over the backseat of the car, fast asleep.

"This should be interesting," Richard remarked as the children climbed in, trying to get the digimon to lie down on their laps. On the ride home, the children remained silent, lost in their thoughts about what just happened and what will happen in the future.


	2. Pride

Several boys had gathered in the field by the Reeves' house. Two groups standing in different formations and facing each other. One boy stood in the middle of the front line with Clint behind him, ready for the next play to start. As soon as the boy standing right behind the line said "Hut", the boy in front of him tossed the a pointed ball to the quarterback. The two front lines collided into each other as they tried to push each other out of the way. A few more boys dashed forward, trying to get in a position to catch any passes the quarterback may make. Clint himself ran towards the quarterback and reached out as he practically slammed the ball into Clint's chest. Wrapping his arms around the ball, Clint rushed towards the opening his teammates had made for him. As he passed the line of scrimmage, he felt something slam into him from the side. Before he even realized it, he slammed into the ground shoulder first, and cringed as one of his opponents, a much larger boy crushed Clint between him and the ground, feeling pain shoot through his shoulder as if he landed on a rock.

"Booya!" the obese boy crowed after the hit to taunt him, Clint's opponents celebrating. Meanwhile, Clint cringed as he struggled to get up, his shoulder still stinging from the hit.

"Are you okay, Clint?" one of his teammates asked, in concern. Clint nodded in response, more disappointed that he didn't get further on the play than worried about himself.

Within the shadows of the house, Patamon watched as his partner took the hit, cringing in sympathy for Clint. The human boy was tough for his age, but the child digimon couldn't help but worry for him sometimes. Patamon was even more surprised that the boy, holding onto his aching shoulder for a few seconds, continued to play. Then, when the next play started, Clint was handed the ball again, but this time, the offensive line failed as Clint found himself dog piled by several of the opposing players. The boys started to untangle themselves and clear out of the pile. Clint laid on his back on the ground, holding onto his shoulder again. Patamon cringed even harder, and was thankful that the boys decided to stop then. The boys started to walk off in their separate ways, Clint walking towards the house, seemingly disappointed in himself.

"Will you be okay?" Patamon flew out as soon as he knew he wouldn't be seen, looking worriedly at his partner.

"I've taken a lot worse," Clint replied, not startled by the Patamon's sudden appearance. Compared to coming out of a computer that should have been turned off on Halloween night, flying out of the shadows was normal. He walked into the house, Patamon gliding in behind him.

"Worse than having a human boulder flatten you? I find that hard to believe," Patamon remarked. Clint chuckled as he heard this. "I know you're tough, but even you have to have your limits."

"Give me a day or so and I'll be fine again. This has happened before," Clint reassured him.

* * *

Alamo Diaries  
Entry 02: Pride  
By: Izumi Ryu  
Adventures Diaries concept by: Lord Archive  
Disclaimer: Digimon is owned by Toei.

* * *

Clinton slowly opened his eyes as a dim light filled his bedroom. As he rolled over to get up, his shoulder flared mildly, still aching from the previous day, but he didn't react to it. He just crawled out of bed, careful not to wake up Patamon, who slept peacefully. He tried to be silent as he continued to get dressed, but few of the boards beneath him creaked as he stepped on them, making a louder sound than usual.

"About to do chores?" Patamon spoke up, showing that he was awake. He flapped his wings and seemed to float up. "I should come with you anyway."

"Are you still worried over my shoulder? I told you, I'll be fine," Clint told him, waving his hands in the air as if it was nothing to be concerned about.

"Even then, I just don't feel right freeloading off of your family," Patamon retorted.

"Fine," Clint said with a sigh, as he finally put the belt on around his jeans, now fully dressed in a flannel shirt. "We'll see if Dad can find something for you to do."

Patamon followed the boy out of the bedroom and into the semi-darkened living room, the only light being what came from the kitchen and the dim light coming in from the outside windows. Even from within the living room, they got a whiff of the faint aroma of coffee.

As they walked into the kitchen, Clint's father was already sitting at the table, with a cup of coffee in hand. "Good mornin'," he told the two, looking suspiciously over at Patamon. The man didn't necessarily hate the child digimon, but he still found such a sentient animal was odd. Patamon looked at the man warily, which became a habit after he stared down the barrel of the man's rifle when they first met. Clint had to rush in the way to keep the man from shooting him.

Clint opened the fridge, pulling out some milk for breakfast. "Patamon wants to help with our chores. Do you know if there's anything he can do?" Clint asked as he prepared his cereal

His father looked over at the digimon, studying it to see what it would be capable of. "I don't know. For one thing, the animals might get spooked."

"I can't be that scary," Patamon defended himself.

"It's not like that," Clint told him as he sat at the table. "The animals are just easily scared of anything they aren't familiar with. You're as strange as they come,"

"And you're one to talk," Patamon retorted, sticking his tongue out at Clint shortly after.

"Plus, it doesn't look like you can carry much weight. All you seem to be good for is flying," the man continued.

"And shooting blasts of air," Patamon added, earning odd looks from both humans. "I don't think you two would want a demonstration in here."

"Right..." Clint trailed off, not sure what to think. Then, he shook his head before resuming eating his cereal.

"I'm not sure at the moment, but we'll see what we may need you for. I can't make any promises," the older man told him.

* * *

Patamon watched with interest as Clint pulled out a bale of hay and set it on the ground. He reached for a handle sticking out of a leather sheath hanging from a belt loop on his jeans, pulling out a knife that was over half as long as Patamon was, and almost the width of Clint's palm. The boy slid the knife under a thin rope that held the bale together before cutting it open. "What's with that knife?" Patamon asked.

"Dad got it for me a few years ago. It's actually meant for when we go camping or something, but I tend to use it for my chores as well," Clint said, sliding it back into its sheath.

Patamon was suddenly very glad he was on Clint's side. Even if he evolved, that knife could still do some serious damage to him.

Clint got up and picked up a slab of hay that had bunched together into a square before walking to the horse stables. Patamon looked over at the remaining hay. The slab Clint picked up didn't seem very heavy, so he tried to grip onto one slab and flapped his wings harder, trying to pick it up. He lost his grip, the momentum he was flapping causing him to shoot towards the wall and stopping just short of it. "Awww...man," Patamon moaned.

"Don't worry about it," Clint said as he walked back towards the bale. "Don't strain yourself trying to hard."

"You should worry about yourself," Patamon spat back.

"If you two would quit arguing, I need your...friend's...help, real quick," Mr. Reeves spoke up. Patamon immediately turned towards the middle-aged man and glided over towards him. "You've only been here a couple of weeks and you're already bickering like your brothers."

"If I recall the legends correctly, the bond is supposed to be even closer than that," Patamon remarked.

Mr. Reeves cocked an eye brow as he handed Patamon the end of a rope. "Can you get up there and swing the rope around that wheel and bring that end back down? Just make sure it sets in that groove."

Patamon nodded as he gripped onto the rope with his stubby legs, before flying towards the wheel the man told him about. The man just watched as he tried to figure out what the bat-pig like creature told him. It was odd enough having a creature like him around, but to say he was closer to his son than even brothers? The child digimon floated down with the rope, handing it over to him. He tugged on the rope, making sure the pulley would work. "Thanks," the man told him. "Sorry we don't have much for you to do."

"I just feel bad for not being much help. I don't like the idea of freeloading off of you," Patamon remarked, watching the man pull on the rope and lifting a bucket of some kind towards the upper platforms. Suddenly, the bucket and wheel started swinging as the walls to the barn started to shake, spilling some of the bucket's contents.

"Clint! What are you doing?!" The man yelled.

"I don't know! The bull's gone nuts for some reason!" Clint yelled back from the stables.

At that, Mr. Reeves just let go of the rope and ran towards the stables. Patamon had to dodge out of the way as the bucket plummeted back to the ground, before he chased after the man. As they approached the stable Clint stood in, backing away as much as he could as the bull continued to buck around the pen, sometimes kicking the walls. The stable not only had a gate into it, but a door that led outside as well. Suddenly, the bull kicked the gate that led outside the barn. Before he fully turned around, he kicked towards Clint, who suddenly jumped back and fell into the wall shoulder first. He cringed in pain as his shoulder hit the wall and he landed on his butt. The bull suddenly charged out of the pen and into the field.

"Are you okay?" the man asked as Clint sat on the ground trying to regroup.

"I'll be fine," Clint told him, before looking around the pen. He heard a faint hiss from somewhere within the stable. As Clint tried to find the source, he instinctively reached for his knife and slowly pulled it out of its sheath. "There's what spooked him," Clint said calmly as he swung his knife down on the snake coming out of the hay, slicing its head off.

"We better stop it before the venom kills it," the older man said before looking around, and noticing something was missing. "Wait a sec, where's your friend?" Clint jumped to his feet, looking around to see Patamon was missing.

"AIR SHOT!!!" was suddenly heard from outside, before the sound of something slamming into the ground and the bull moaning. Clint rushed outside to see what had happened. The bull had suddenly stopped in front of a small impact crater in the ground, head covered in dirt. The boy's father followed and saw the scene for the first time. "Well, I'll be. Clint, go to the house and call the vet." Then, he looked up into the air and found Patamon where he came out of an open hatch in the roof. "Keep an eye on him, but don't get any closer! I'll be right back!" Patamon nodded as the man walked back into the barn to get a rope.

* * *

Clint sighed as he plopped down onto his bed, relaxing after what just happened. The vet said the bull would be okay, much to everyone's relief. Patamon had indeed saved the bull's life. At the thought of his partner, he turned to look at the digimon, who was floating in the air while looking at some ribbons that hung on Clint's wall. Clint had taken part in a few junior rodeo competitions. If he didn't win, he placed pretty high.

"I really hope, you're not as crazy in the Digital World as you are in these competitions," Patamon remarked, having seen Clint practice for some of these events. Seeing Clint hanging onto a bucking horse or jumping off of a horse to tackle and finish roping a calf didn't reassure the child digimon.

"You worry too much," Clint told him. "Besides, you were so obsessed with wanting to help. What's the difference?"

"My life wasn't on the line," Patamon snapped back. "You could be killed if you try even one of these stunts in the digital world."

"Don't worry too much about me," Clint told him. "I can take care of myself."

Patamon nodded, but still wasn't convinced. Then, he shuddered as he heard a high pitched beeping noise. Clint reached into his pocket as he sat up and pulled out the device that appeared when Patamon did. It was glowing a bright white light and beeping rapidly. The human and digimon looked at each other with puzzled expressions before walking out of the bedroom.

With the sun up, the living room was well illuminated. Clint's mother sat on the sofa in the living room, holding onto a baby girl, not even a year old. She stared at the computer in there, something they managed to save up for because Clint's schooling almost required it. Now, it seemed to have turned on on its own. Clint saw this happen before only once, when Patamon first appeared.

"Don't worry, Mom. I think I know what this is," he reassured the woman. That was only seconds before Clint and Patamon seemed to glow themselves before they were literally sucked into the screen. Despite her son's reassurance, the woman was about to have a panic attack.

* * *

Richard stormed into his bedroom and after one step, plopped onto his bed face first. A small pang from his chest reminded him of his injury as he hit the mattress. He ignored it and continued to bury his face in his pillow.

Hagurumon peered out from where he hid from under the bed. "What's wrong, Richard?" the gear asked.

"Just my sisters," Richard sighed before flipping onto his back, becoming uncomfortable with lying on his chest. "It's so stupid. I don't know why I let these things bother me." Richard explained.

Hagurumon floated up and peeked above the bed at his partner. The boy seemed calmed now, but his sisters get to him so much that his head has probably twisted in several hundred ways. After living with Richard, Hagurumon noticed Richard always seems to let his sisters walk all over him, and they would probably do that literally when given the chance. Though, Richard told him that they've done worse. It was why Hagurumon even hid while in Richard's room. He's actually seen the girls walk in at random times, whether Richard was there or not.

"I just wanted to do some more research on the Digital World, but I couldn't even look at the files with my sisters at my back constantly. I eventually got fed up and gave up the computer," Richard told him.

Hagurumon nodded. "You're really serious about keeping this secret from your family. I mean, Gotsumon and Floramon have become part of their families already."

"You're the only one I can stand in this house anymore. If Dad ever found out about you, you're gone." Richard shifted and sat up on the side of his bed. "I'll be back. I need a drink."

Hagurumon remained motionless as Richard stood up and left the bedroom. He couldn't believe the contrast between his old family and Richard's. From what he could see, while they seem to be doing well for themselves on the outside, the family was in decline, and Richard was showing it. None of Hagurumon's family had such problems. Sure, Terriermon was a pain from time to time, but they couldn't risk having this kind of dissent.

As Richard reached the top of the staircase, he looked over to the computer room, noticing that the chair was vacant. "That's odd, the girls normally take up more time than this," Richard mumbled, not recalling whether he heard his father yell at them. Curious, he walked into the room and took a look at the monitor. The desktop was suddenly covered by a window that had a read border around a smaller window. The small window showed a map South Central Texas, with something flashing just north of the city, somewhere in the Hill Country. _The Digital Gate program_, Richard realized. Almost immediately, he leaned over and closed the window. If he opened the gate now, it would raise too many questions.

Trying to act calm he walked at a rather quick pace to his bedroom, and surprised Hagurumon when he reached over to grab him. "Stay quiet. We gotta go," Richard warned harshly. Hagurumon just closed his mouth as Richard hid him behind his back, in the same manner used to get him in here in the first place.

Richard kept a rapid pace as he walked through the house. "I'm going to Dwayne's. I'll be back later," Richard said once he saw his father in the living room. He didn't give his father the time to object or acknowledge, as he slipped on his shoes and rushed out the front door.

"What's going on?" Hagurumon demanded, detecting no deceit from when Richard told his father where they were going. "Why are we going to Dwayne's?"

"A Digital Gate opened somewhere in the Hill Country. We need to get Dwayne and figure out what to do," Richard said before breaking out into a full sprint, against his better judgment.

* * *

Clint and Patamon glanced around where they ended up, finding themselves within an alleyway surrounded by wooden buildings. The dirt crunched beneath Clint's boots as he walked towards the alley's exit. "This whole scene has the feel of an Old West town," Clint remarked.

"Be careful," Patamon warned. "This place feels familiar." The child digimon floated behind the boy, looking around as if expecting an ambush.

Clint had to cover his eyes as he stepped out of the alley, the light too bright for him at first. As his eyes adjusted, he saw nothing before him other than the lines of wooden building surrounding the main street. Clint had to cover his face again as some wind kicked up more dirt and sent the cloud towards him. "A ghost town?"

"Unfortunately, Pail Dramon's men could be anywhere," Patamon said, trying to keep from panicking. "This place bothers me too much. We gotta get out of here."

"What's wrong with you?" Clint asked, not even looking at his partner.

"Bad memories, I guess," Patamon shrugged. "There were several towns wiped out by Pail Dramon, so it's no surprise we've found a place like this."

Clint nodded in understanding. "Sorry, Patamon, but I need to find something about what I'm supposed to do. Perhaps this place has something."

Patamon groaned, "Okay, but make it quick."

"Can't promise anything there," Clint told him before walking down the main road through the town, looking away from the blowing wind. Patamon stayed close to the boy, feeling as if the two were being watched by something. Slowly continuing towards a building labeled "Saloon", the feeling kept growing, as if they were getting closer. Clint placed a hand on the swinging door as he pushed it open, his boots echoing through the building as they hit the wooden floor.

A fist suddenly slammed Clint in the face, sending the boy flailing to the wooden porch. Patamon shot into the building and slammed into the attacker, and wrestled around with it. Clint slowly got to his feet, rubbing his face as he got up. He rushed into the bar to see Patamon rolling around on the floor with something that resembled a sphere with arms and legs, about as big as the tables they were knocking over. Eventually, the weird being pinned Patamon to the ground and reared back, ready to punch the child digimon.

When Patamon got a good look at who attacked him, his eyes grew to the size of pie plates. "Nanimon?" Patamon asked, stopping the mutant digimon from punching him.

"Patamon? You're alive?" Nanimon asked, getting off of the mammal. "I can't believe it."

"Trust me, I have something more incredible than this to tell you," Patamon said.

"As great as this reunion is," Clint started, walking through the saloon before stopping right by the two digimon. "Can someone explain to me what's going on? And why the Hell did you sucker punch me?"

Nanimon looked at the boy, and started to realize what he had just hit. "A human?" Nanimon asked before looking back at Patamon. "It couldn't be possible."

"It is," Patamon said. "This is Clint, my human partner. Clint, this is Nanimon. He helped me and my friends to escape Revolmon before we met you."

Clint extended a hand towards Nanimon, in which the mutant digimon grasped it. "Sorry, for punching you. Thought you were one of Pail Dramon's men. I've been on the run ever since I met Patamon." Then the digimon looked over to Patamon. "Are the others...?"

"They are probably with their human partners now," Patamon told him. "I haven't seen them since we got separated at that temple. The one that Nanomon used as a base."

"Good to see you got to safety," Nanimon told him. "You must've met the digimon that defeated him, then. I heard they live in that temple and protect that region."

Patamon nodded. "So why are you here? I thought you'd be..."

"Home?" Nanimon finished before lookin down. "No, I got caught. And instead of executing me, Revolmon made me watch him execute everyone else, even the children."

"Oh, no..." Patamon said, as he looked downward, mulling over what had happened. "I'm sorry. If we hadn't asked for help..."

"You wouldn't have been alive today," Nanimon interrupted. "It was my fault for getting caught."

"I don't see how it could be either of your fault," Clint spoke up. "You both did what you had to."

"I know but seeing all those innocents executed for a crime they didn't commit. You can't help but feel some regret," Nanimon added.

"You didn't commit any crime, Nanimon. This Revolmon guy is the criminal," Clint told him.

"Clint, human laws don't apply here," Patamon spoke up. "Only those with power make up the rules, and compared to Pail Dramon, we're powerless."

Nanimon's eyes narrowed as he looked towards Patamon. "That's no way for a chosen Digimon to even think! You and Clint are now our hope, Patamon. Don't you understand that now?"

Silence filled the room as Patamon looked down, wondering what Nanimon saw in him. Weeks ago, Nanimon was protecting him, now he's looking up to the child as if he was the trump card to end Pail Dramon's chaos. Looking over at Clint, he noticed the boy's eyes filled more with determination than anything. After hearing about all that happened, he wasn't discouraged, but emboldened. Patamon sighed, seeing where this whole situation was going...straight to their graves.

The silence was broken as the ground started to shake beneath the digimon. Without any notice, the wooden floor between them exploded, causing them to jump back in surprise. A spinning cone emerged from the hole in the ground and stopped as what it was attached to started to rise, Clint now recognized it as a drill. The purple and white furred mole that it was attached to crawled out, letting out a roar.

"Drimogemon!" Nanimon yelled.

"Get out of here!" Clint yelled, looking around at the inside of the now shaky building. "The building's gonna collapse!"

Nodding, Patamon and Nanimon raced towards the entrance of the building, Clint chasing after them. Drimogemon slowly walked towards them, his drill suddenly spinning as he got closer to the wall and drilling right through it. The two small digimon rushed out the door, Clint running out the moment Drimogemon's drill hit the wall, and causing the canopy to collapse. Clint had to dive for the dirt and rolled on the ground as the canopy hit the porch. Drimogemon had completely drilled through the wall at this point, allowing the building to collapse on him and around him and leving him virtually unharmed.

Clint scrambled to his feet, and turned to face Drimogemon. Out of instinct, he reached for the hunting knife knife hanging from his belt and unsheathed it.

"Clint!" Patamon said. "What are you doing? He'll rip you to shreds!"

Clint's eyes narrowed towards Drimogemon. "He'd do it whether I fought or not. I'd rather go down swinging."

Patamon would have replied, but Drimogemon let out a roar and charged towards the trio, aiming his drill towards the human. All three jumped out of the way, but the oversized mole continued to drill into the ground at a rapid speed before disappearing into the tunnel.

"Not good," Nanimon said. "Stay on guard. He can come back up at any moment."

* * *

Mrs. Wright smiled as she heard the yells of celebration coming from the living room where Dwayne and Gotsumon were playing a video game. Perhaps it was a blessing in disguise that the so-called mob on the Riverwalk occurred. Despite the oddity of the small golem appearing with Dwayne, he became part of the family rather quickly. The only thing that worried her is Gotsumon warning them that there will be more battles like the one on the Riverwalk.

The doorbell rang suddenly. Almost immediately, she walked right up to the door, and grasped the knob and turning it. Richard stood on the front porch, clutching his chest and breathing heavily with Hagurumon floating behind him. "Richard? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, but there's no time. I need to talk to Dwayne," Richard told her.

"Come on in, then," Mrs. Wright motioned the boy towards the living room.

Richard nodded before walking towards the living room, seeing the two of them in front of the television playing some sports video game.

"Hey, Rich," Dwayne greeted as the white boy walked into the room.

"Hate to break up your game, but a Digital Gate was opened in the Hill Country," Richard told him flatly.

Mrs. Wright never saw the boy turn off the video game system so fast before the moment Richard said that. "Are you sure?" Dwayne asked.

"Positive." Richard walked towards Dwayne's bedroom. Dwayne and Gotsumon rushed in right behind him as Dwayne turned the computer on. Dwayne immediately loaded up the Digital Gate program to find a lone signal in the Digital World.

"I'm going in," Dwayne told him. "Sorry, Rich, but you're still recovering from that last battle."

"Are you nuts?!" Richard asked.

"Only as much as you are," Dwayne told him before holding up his digivice towards the monitor. "I'll be back."

With one bright flash, Dwayne and Gotsumon had disappeared. Richard looked over towards Dwayne's mother. "I'm sorry, but can I use the phone? I need to call Rita."

* * *

The ground rumbled from beneath Clint's feet, giving the boy only a few seconds notice before a drill appeared below him. On instinct he jumped out of the way, barely avoiding the drill. "Clint! Air Shot!" Patamon yelled as he fired a blast of air at the overgrown mole as it emerged, barely phasing it.

Nanimon almost immediately jumped towards Drimogemon and punched it, knocking it to the ground. "Clint! Now's your chance!"

Clint nodded as he rushed towards the mole. Once in range, he heaved the knife into the adult digimon's stomach. Drimogemon bellowed in pain as the boy continued to pull the knife across its body, having to use both hands just to rip the knife across its hide. Then, he quickly pulled the knife out and stabbed it into the digimon again causing it even more pain.

Now, angry at the boy, the mole rolled onto its fours, trying to regain composure and lash out at Clint, slashing at him with one of the drill claws. Clint looked up as soon as he pulled the knife out, just noticing the claws descending towards him. "Watch out!" a new voice yelled as Clint was tackled to the ground and forcing him to drop his knife, the drills barely missing them.

"Ice Strike!!" Icemon suddenly rushed out and punched the Drimogemon down.

Dwayne looked down at the boy underneath him, shaking his head. "And I thought Rich and I were crazy."

Clint reached over for his sore shoulder as Dwayne climbed off of him. "Thanks," Clint muttered.

"Gotsumon? Is that you?" Nanimon asked.

"Nanimon!" Icemon called back. "We can talk later, let's deal with this guy first."

Clint and Dwayne scrambled to their feet, trying to get a view of the battle before them. Drimogemon was trying to tunnel below again. Making Dwayne panic as it disappeared below ground.

"Don't worry," Clint told him. "He won't get too far."

Dwayne was confused about what Clint meant by that, but suddenly, the Drimogemon shot up, crying in pain, dirt having got into the gashes Clint left in it. "What just happened?"

"Just like any other animal, he wants to avoid pain. If he tries to tunnel again, he'll just hurt himself," Clint told him.

"So the clothing isn't just for show," Dwayne smirked, realizing what kind of person Clint was.

"Iceball Bomb!" Icemon fired several balls of ice that exploded and froze the adult level digimon on contact. Within seconds, Drimogemon dispersed into data as it died.

"We got 'im!" Dwayne punched the air in celebration.

"Clint!" Patamon yelled out as he flew over to his partner, who was picking up his knife and sheathing it. "I can't believe we just did it!"

Nanimon became uneasy, looking around as if something was about to attack out of no where. The battle just seemed too easy and way too convenient. Then, he saw what appeared to be a large eagle in the air, diving towards the human children. "No! Look out!"

"Blast Rings!!" a voice from above yelled out, firing energy rings down on the children. Nanimon immediately jumped into the way taking the attack.

"Nanimon!" Clint called out, as the mutant digimon suddenly dispersed into data. Clint glared up at the horned-eagle digimon that attacked them.

"Iceball Bomb!!" Icemon shouted out out of anger, firing several ice balls toward the bird, but the eagle just flew out of range of the attack, letting the balls fall and freeze the ground.

"Aquilamon!" Patamon called out. "You are DEAD!" Suddenly, light engulfed the small mammal digimon as energy flowed through it. "Patamon, evolve!!" As the light dispersed, Patamon was now in the form of a white horse with wings, wearing a red mask and a yellow horn on its head. "UNIMON!!"

Clint stared up at his partners adult form, which just snorted. "Clint, get on! _We'll_ fight him in the air." Clint nodded as he climbed onto the winged horse's back, hanging on. With a couple flaps of his wings, Unimon was airborne and flying right towards Aquilamon.

"I'm not as pathetic as Drimogemon!" Aquilamon shouted. "Blast Rings!!"

"Holy Shot!!" Pure white energy formed in Unimon's mouth and shot towards the eagle, canceling out the Blast Rings and creating a cloud of dust in the air. Unimon suddenly shot towards the eagle. As they got within reach, Clint unsheathed his knife and tried to slash Aquilamon, but the bird flew away just as soon as he tried.

"Damn it!" Clint cursed as he watched the bird fly away. Then got an idea to get and stay within reach of Aquilamon. "Unimon! Get above him!"

"I'll try," Unimon told him, trying to gain altitude on the enemy.

"You're not getting away!" Aquilamon yelled out.

"Wind Seeker!!" Aquilamon dodged just in time for a vacuum to slice right pass him. He looked over at the Harpymon that fired the attack, which glared dangerously back.

"Now's our chance!" Clint told him, as the horse flew just above the bird, looking down at the eagle tried to find where everyone was attacking from. Clint started to have second thoughts on his plan to deal with Aquilamon, but kept reminding himself that it's no different that what he's done before, only he wasn't a few hundred feet in the air before.

"What do you plan to do?" Unimon asked.

"This," Clint said, finally getting the nerve to jump. Unimon felt some weight get taken off of his back, as Clint kicked off, falling with his arms spread, reaching for Aquilamon, aiming to land on the bird's back.

"Clint!" Unimon shouted as the boy grabbed onto the bird digimon around its neck, missing his intended target. He quickly reached around with his other arm, hanging on for dear life.

"What?!" Aquilamon tried to look down at the human, his eyes growing out of shear shock.

Harpymon's mouth nearly dropped to the ground, now not sure what to do to help. If she attacked now, there was a chance that she could hit the boy hanging into the enemy.

Clint looked up at the bird, anger filling him as he reached for his knife with his weaker hand. "Die," Clint muttered as he suddenly tried to slash down on the bird's neck in one swift motion. The bird suddenly reared it's head upward, an attempt to throw the boy off, but all he did was make the boy miss his neck... and stab him in the eye.

Aquilamon bellowed out in pain as he started squirming around, trying desperately to throw the boy off. Clint dropped his knife as he reached back around with his free arm, trying to hold onto the bird as it bucked around continually. On the ground, Dwayne had to jump back as the knife lodged itself in the ground where he once stood, before turning his attention back towards the sky. Clint's fatigue started to take its toll as his arms started slipping. He eventually slid off of Aquilamon's neck as it tossed its head around again, plummeting towards the ground below.

Without warning, Clint felt the feathers of Harpymon as she caught the boy. "Silent Symphony!!" Harpymon shouted as she opened her mouth, firing off a steady blast of air at Aquilamon. The bird had regained its composure just a few seconds before the attack hit, and without even looking where he was going, soared off, knowing it wouldn't matter where he ended up.

"Are you okay?" Rita asked as Harpymon landed on the ground, letting Clint go and fall to the ground.

"I'm fine. Thanks," Clint told him ashe landed. The three digimon reverted back to their child forms. Clint finally got a good look at the two children now with him, obviously from the city judging by the way they were dressed.

"I swear you're insane, kid," Dwayne told him, handing the boy his knife. "First fighting Drimogemon like that, then Aquilamon?"

"It was them or me," Clint shrugged. "I chose them. Aquilamon's gonna be mad next time we meet."

"He got the least he deserved," Dwayne told him, he said, looking over towards the town. While he didn't know who Nanimon was, he bowed his head, giving the digimon that sacrificed his own life for them some form of respect. Clint nodded and followed Dwayne's cue, bowing his head towards the town, as did Gotsumon and Patamon when they realized what the boys were doing.

"What's going on?" Rita asked in confusion.

"Nanimon died protecting us," Patamon explained. "He was the only one that saw the attack coming."

"Nanimon? You don't mean...?" Floramon asked.

Gotsumon looked back and nodded. "The very same one that helped us flee Revolmon."

Floramon fell down to her knees, placing the stamen that acted as her hands on them. Rita kneeled down to her partner. "It's okay," Rita told her, allowing the floral digimon wrap her arms around the girl's neck and bury her face into her shoulder.

Suddenly, the younger boy turned around, glaring towards where Aquilamon flew off. "Don't worry. I'll make Aquilamon pay...personally," Clint told them, getting everyone else's attention. It seemed like an impossible goal for the boy, but after everyone saw what the boy did, it was easy to believe he might be able to pull it off.

Patamon finally spoke up. "I'm sorry we had to meet at a time like this. Have you seen any of the others?"

"Hagurumon is with Richard in the human world still. I'd assume Tapirmon and Terriermon are with their partners, but I'm not sure," Gotsumon shrugged.

"In speaking of," Rita said, turning towards Dwayne, glaring at him as if she might finish what Aquilamon started. "You're lucky Richard called me. What were you thinking coming here alone?"

"Ummm..." was the only thing out of Dwayne's mouth to reply, earning a chuckle from Clint.

"Whipped..." Clint taunted. "Besides, if he hadn't shown up when he did, I probably wouldn't be standing." Then, he turned around. "I better get home and let my folks know I'm okay. Maybe we'll meet again someday."

"There's no 'maybe' about it. We will meet again," Dwayne told him. "You're stuck in this like the rest of us."

Clint nodded as he rushed towards the monitor he came in, Patamon floating behind him. "If Aquilamon is any proof, this is going to be a long fight," Clint muttered. He swore as rushed towards the silence of the town, he could here an angry shout of "I'll kill that kid!" in the distance.


	3. Hopeless

Night had fallen for hours over a grungy neighborhood with little sign of activity aside from the occasional passing vehicle. When the cars pass, the residents can only hope not to hear gunfire. Then, they sigh in relief when no such thing happened. The darkness hid how badly kept the homes were, but the appearance of the property had no value here.

One car suddenly turned into a driveway, shining its headlights through Jorge's bedroom window. The boy tightened his eyelids for a second as if to keep the light from disturbing him as he continued to sleep, knowing that it was just his mother returning home from work.

The room remained silent for several minutes, Tapirmon sleeping peacefully by his side. Jorge slowly started to shift uncomfortably. Brushing up against the tapir digimon and waking him up. He looked as if something horrible was happening, tightening his eyes as if not seeing it will just make whatever it was go away. He suddenly sat up in bed and looked around, seeing Tapirmon was lying down right next to him. He then just palmed his head as he tried to calm down, shaking after his memory had replayed itself for him again. "Padre," Jorge muttered.

Tapirmon stirred a bit and looked up at his partner, without revealing he was awake. The mammalian digimon had become used to this after sleeping in his partner's bed for a month, and his concern for Jorge had grown each time. _Please, Jorge,_ Tapirmon thought. _Just let it out. Whatever is bothering you, just let it out._

Jorge sighed as he crawled out of bed as if trying not to wake his digimon and walking out into the living room. It made Tapirmon curious about what he does this late at night, but he decided to leave the boy alone before he drifted back to sleep himself.

* * *

Alamo Diaries  
Entry 03: Hopeless  
By: Izumi Ryu  
Diaries Adventures concept by: Lord Archive  
Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon Adventures, which belongs to Toei Animation.

* * *

Victoria wanted to stay in bed longer, keeping her eyes closed despite feeling the signs of waking up. She felt comfortable as something soft and warm had cuddled against her. The girl's arm had been wrapped around the furry object the whole night. That comfort came to a halt as she suddenly felt something cold and wet press against her exposed shoulder, jolting herself awake. Her leg slipped off the bed before it got tangled in the oversized t-shirt.

Terrermon laughed as she had woke up the girl, and the irritated expression Victoria had only prolonged the laughter. "Terriermon..." Victoria whined.

"I'm sorry, Vickie, but I had to wake you up, somehow," Terriermon explained.

"With a wet nose?!"

"Whatever works." Terriermon grinned. "Besides, don't you normally get ready for something now?"

Victoria's eyes widened before she rushed to the closet, throwing off the t-shirt and grabbing an outfit. "What time is it?" Victoria asked, pulling a pink-striped t-shirt over her head.

"You've got plenty of time still," a boy's voice said. She finally pushed her head through the collar of her shirt, only to see Jorge standing at the girl's doorway, fully dressed for school already. Victoria's panicked reaction subsided but she still remained tense in front of her brother, neither really phased by the fact that Victoria was still only half-dressed. "I'll make breakfast." Jorge said leaving his sister to get ready.

"Why does he always ruin the mood around here?" Terriermon complained, noticing how serious Victoria had become.

"I wish I knew," Victoria said, sitting up on the bed so she could slip her jeans on. "He's been like this for as long as I can remember." Then the girl wrapped an arm around the child digimon and lifted her, her expression suddenly lightening up. "C'mon, let's get breakfast!" the girl exclaimed cheerfully.

"Now, that's more like it," Terriermon remarked.

* * *

If there was one thing Tapirmon had learned about Jorge by now, it's that Jorge rarely talked. Even now as the boy focused on eating a bowl of cereal as the digimon looked on, having finished breakfast. Tapirmon wanted to learn more about the boy, but some nagging feeling kept Tapirmon from even asking a question. Even if Tapirmon had, he'd never get a response from the human.

"Buenos dias, Tapirmon!" Victoria greeted cheerfully as she sat down at the table, setting Terriermon down on the table next to her. It had taken Tapirmon a week to realize that she was greeting him in Spanish, another human language.

"Good morning, Vickie. Heard Terriermon had fun waking you up this morning," Tapirmon replied before looking over at the child digimon. Terriermon only replied by sticking her tongue out at him.

"It's okay, Tapirmon. I don't mind," Victoria replied, before she started scooping cereal into her own mouth.

"I see," Tapirmon muttered before turning his attention towards Jorge. He still hadn't said anything since he walked into Victoria's room earlier, but something seemed different about the way Jorge was sitting. He seemed more relaxed now that his sister had sat down at the table, though you could barely tell the difference, except that he was focusing less on his food and paying some attention towards his sister. _Perhaps there is a soft spot within him,_ Tapirmon realized as he looked at the young human girl, who seemed completely oblivious to what he just saw. However, even this relaxed moment didn't ease Tapirmon's concerns for his partner.

"Can I go with you to school today?" Terriermon asked as her partner took another bite.

Victoria shook her head. "I'm sorry, but I told you before. They won't allow me to bring you there. Besides, you wouldn't like it there. Most of the time, we just sit in a desk and listen to a teacher."

As Terriermon complained and tried to persuade the girl into taking her, Tapirmon found himself sympathizing with the younger digimon. Though, while Terriermon wanted to explore something new, Tapirmon just wanted to watch over the boy some more. If there was anyway he was going to learn more about Jorge, he had to watch what he did outside of home.

"I don't see why you shouldn't take them along," a woman spoke up. Everyone turned to look at the children's mother, her hair disheveled and still wearing her work clothes from the previous night. She held herself up on the doorframe, looking fatigued still.

"Madre?" Jorge said. "You should be asleep."

"Don't worry about me, Jorge. You take Tapirmon and Terriermon with you today," Mrs. Gonzalez told her children. "It would make things easier on me."

"Okay, Madre," Jorge told her before looking to Tapirmon. "But you two must keep out of sight. Don't attract attention or things will be a mess."

Tapirmon nodded. Terriermon didn't seem to be paying attention, just hugging onto Victoria glad she could stay near the girl for hours.

As Jorge got up and prepared to leave, Mrs. Gonzalez walked up to Tapirmon and told him, "I really want you to keep an eye on them, especially Jorge."

Tapirmon nodded as the woman walked back into her bedroom. Jorge had grabbed both his and his sister's backpacks while preparing to leave.

* * *

The longer Tapirmon watched Jorge, the more disappointed he became. Jorge kept the same guarded and emotionless attitude that he carried at home. While he watched the boy through his classroom's window, the boy just silently paid close attention to the teacher, only looking down at his desk to write something down and only spoke when asked. He hadn't even turned his head towards the window to look at him for even a split second. Outside of the classroom, his classmates avoided him. He sat alone during recess and looked as if he was staring off into space.

However, as he watched over Jorge, Terriermon became more than he could handle. Starting to become bored, she tried to find something to amuse herself, or at least tried to find Victoria on her own. Every time he turned around, Tapirmon would have to rush to stop her.

As the final bell rang, within minutes, students came pouring out of the doors. Terriermon jumped into the crowd, in search of Victoria. Tapirmon panicked before chasing after her, trying to keep her in sight within the crowd of children. "Terriermon!" Victoria called out in surprise when the the dog digimon found her partner. "What are you doing?"

"She's been a handful all day," Tapirmon told her, as he floated toward the two. "Where's Jorge?"

"We'll find him later, we have to hide you two!" Victoria told him, grabbing Terriermon and running back into the school building, Tapirmon following close behind.

Victoria rushed into the first opened room she could find, closing the door close behind her. Tapirmon looked around, noticing all the computers lined up on tables. "Not the best hiding spot, but it's something," Victoria sighed.

The door opened without warning, all three there looked up and froze, only relaxing when they realized it was Jorge. "Victoria, what are you doing?"

"Terriermon came out of hiding," Victoria told him. "I'm sorry, Hermano."

"Don't be. It wasn't your fault. You did what you had to," Jorge reassured her, though his tone hadn't changed, which didn't help.

Something beeped on the computer closest to them. They turned towards it to see a program had booted up itself. "Don't they turn these things off?" Jorge asked.

"It wasn't on when we got here," Victoria replied, curious herself. When she asked that, the children's D-3's flashed light before drawing them and their digimon in through the screen.

* * *

Clint seemed more withdrawn lately than before. His parents seemed to notice that he hasn't been able to look them in the eye, as if doing so would just reveal a dark secret, something the boy was deeply ashamed of. Clint on the other hand, just couldn't get a grasp on something. All he knew was that it wasn't good, whatever it was.

"You're concerned over Aquilamon, aren't you?" Patamon finally got the nerve to ask him.

Clint really didn't want to answer that question, but it felt like he couldn't hide anything from the digimon. "Something like that," Clint answered. "What was that? That feeling? You felt it, too, didn't you?"

Patamon shuddered a bit at the thought. "Pure hatred," Patamon said. "We both hated Aquilamon enough that we wanted him dead. It's only natural, but it's never good."

Clint nodded. It answered his question, but it didn't help either. "Does that mean...I'm like him?"

Patamon shook his head. "There's still a lot I don't know, Clint. This is one of them. Clint how you deal with this is completely up to you. It'll take time for you to deal with it. And to do that..."

"We'll have to experience it again, right?" Clint interrupted, not liking the way this could go.

"Unfortunately, yes," Patamon said. "Sometimes, it's best we get into the problem to find the answer. As long as those guys are still around, it'll happen again."

Clint nodded before realizing the Digital Gate program had loaded itself once again. "Speak of the devil," Clint muttered. "Guess we're needed."

As Clint and Patamon entered the other world, his father watched on, having listened to his son's conversation. He could only shake his head. It frustrated him not to be able to help his son, but Patamon was right. Clint would have to find his own answers. "If he needs my help, he'll come to me," the man said to himself.

* * *

The children looked around the forest surrounding them, nothing more than trees. No one spoke for a few good minutes, afraid to break the silence that surrounded them. Numerous questions ran though their heads as they wondered where they were now.

"We're back," Tapirmon said, grimly. "Not good."

Victoria took a couple of steps back, still holding onto her partner before bumping into something rocky. She looked up slowly as she looked up into the eyes of the golem that she bumped into. "Vickie..." Terriermon said slowly. "Don't...move...an inch," she told the child, hoping like mad this was not the same Golemon she thought it was.

Then the golem rose one of its arms over the ground, as if preparing to swing down at the girl. "RUN!!" Terriermon shouted. Victoria made a mad dash forward as the brownish rock arm slammed down into the ground where she was before. Jorge grabbed onto Victoria's arm and ran off with her in tow without a warning. The golem yelled out in frustration before chasing after them, crashing through the trees that would've barred his way if he weren't so large. Jorge tried to run as fast as he could, so that the trees that were knocked down wouldn't get in his way.

Golemon picked up one of the fallen trees and threw it ahead of the group. Jorge stopped cold upon seeing the tree fall right in front of them. "This way!" Jorge yelled before turning left into denser parts of the forest.

"Nightmare Syndrome!" Tapirmon called out as he fired a dark wave at Golemon, stopping him for a second. "Hide!" Tapirmon called out, to the others, following them as Jorge ducked into some brush. The four of them cowered in the bush, trying to stay silent as they listened to Golemon's footsteps, which sounded like they were coming closer for a while.

Then they heard the sound of something large hitting the ground, probably more trees being thrown around while trying to crush them, or bring them out of hiding. Without much explanation afterwards, Golemon's footsteps grew softer until they were silenced. "Come on," Jorge told everyone as he got out of hiding. "We're getting out of here somehow."

"Hey! Anyone out there! I need help!" a panicked voice called out. Everyone turned their head towards where the voice was coming from.

"What's that?" Victoria asked, starting to run forwards, trying to find who called.

"Victoria! Wait!" Jorge said, but Victoria was already gone. Jorge followed after, trying to catch up with his sister. Jorge started to worry, wanting to leave before Golemon came back. They couldn't afford any detours.

When he finally caught up with her, Victoria had stopped in front of a pink bird, pinned to the ground by one of the trees Golemon uprooted and threw. "Piyomon! Are you okay?" Tapirmon asked.

"I can't get out. I couldn't get out of the tree before Golemon threw it," the Piyomon told them. "I didn't have time."

"Hermano, we've gotta help him," Victoria said.

Jorge shook his head at this. "We don't have time. That thing could come back and kill us."

"Jorge!" Victoria shot back. "Why are you so selfish? What if this was me?!"

"I wouldn't have allowed it to happen in the first place," Jorge told her. "Until you are safe, nothing else matters."

"You...you aren't gonna leave me here, are you?" the Piyomon pleaded.

"I can't believe you!" Victoria yelled at him before, turning towards the tree and placing her hands on it. She tried pushing it forward, wanting to roll the tree off, but the tree wouldn't move, no matter how hard she pushed.

"Jorge, this is not the time, if you don't help her now, we're all dead," Tapirmon told him. "I'll keep a look out, help them."

Jorge nodded seeing as Tapirmon was right. Jorge walked up and turned around with his back against the tree, trying to get it to roll. He thought he managed to move it for a second, but then it only rolled back the way it was after he stopped, his body tiring from the attempt.

"Nightmare Syndrome!" Tapirmon called out, firing a black wave into the forest suddenly, signaling Golemon's approach.

"Victoria! We really don't have time for this!" Jorge yelled at her.

"Shut up and push, Jorge!" Victoria called out.

The moment that happened, Tapirmon suddenly flew straight into the tree they were pushing and fell to the ground. "Tapirmon!" Jorge called out before looking up at Tapirmon's attacker. Golemon had found them.

Terriermon spread her ears and took to the air, floating over Golemon. "Blazing Fire!" she called out, opening her mouth and firing a ball of green energy at Golemon, which seemed to stall Golemon for a split second. Terriermon let loose another more, one right after the other, anything to keep Golemon from getting close to them. Within seconds, Golemon grabbed the dog digimon and slammed her into the ground, pinning her down. "Terriermon!" Victoria called out, hearing her partner cry out in pain.

"Stay back, Vickie!" Terriermon cried out, cringing.

"This is what I was afraid of," Jorge said. "There's no way we can win here. The same thing happens back home when we stand up to the gangs. We die."

"Stop...thinking like that," Tapirmon said, shaking his head as he finally got up, recovering from being thrown like a baseball.

"Holy Shot!" a white ball of energy slammed down on Golemon, knocking him down to the ground and losing his hold on Terriermon. Terriermon slowly got up and shook her head, still aching. Unimon landed before the group, staring down Golemon as Clint dismounted.

"A Unimon..." Golemon chuckled, talking for the first time since he was found. "So you're the brat that left Aquilamon half-blind."

Clint instinctively reached for the hilt of his knife, but stopped when Unimon spoke up, his gaze never leaving Golemon. "Help them free the Piyomon. I'll handle Golemon."

Clint nodded before turning around and running, as Golemon and Unimon stared each other down. "You!" Clint called out, pointing at Jorge. "Help me push on my mark!"

Jorge nodded, turning towards the tree again as Clint placed his hands on the trunk "Now, push!" Clint yelled. The two boys pushed hard, slowly but surely starting to roll it forward, breaking the branches on the other side as Piyomon's legs became free. Piyomon pulled himself up and to his feet before taking flight. "Now, get out of here!" Clint told the Piyomon.

Behind them, Unimon charged in, ramming into Golemon head first before he could react, but the golem refused to budge. Unimon started to form another blast of light, fully intent on shooting at Golemon at point-blank range. Golemon slowly lifted an arm before punching down on Unimon's side, knocking him to the ground.

"Unimon! Hang in there! I'm coming!" Clint called out. The moment he gripped the handle of his knife, another hand grabbed his, keeping him from pulling it. He turned to see Jorge shaking his head.

"Call him back and let's get out of here before we die," Jorge told him.

"What are you talking about? If we don't beat this guy, he'll never leave us alone," Clint snapped back at him.

"We can't win this fight. He's too strong. It's best to get away."

"Is this how you face all your challenges?" Clint asked Jorge, who didn't seem phased by the remark. "Like some kind of coward."

Jorge refused to fall for such a bait. "Whatever it takes to make sure no one dies."

Golemon suddenly threw Unimon into the ground before the bickering boys. "Why don't you two just shut up and die already."

"Unimon!" Clint called out, Unimon slowly got to his feet as Golemon approached, raising his fist to strike it down once more. Suddenly, Terriermon vaulted off of Unimon's back and started rotating with her ears spread. "Petite Twister!" Terriermon called out as the small tornado formed around her, and moving straight for the golem. Golemon, however, stood as if he wasn't affected by the attack as it collided with him. With one swift swipe, Golemon swatted Terriermon away, only this time, Terriermon spread her ears and flipped onto her feet, glaring at the golem.

"Terriermon?" Victoria asked at the sudden change of attitude.

"I don't know what your problem is," Terriermon growled as light flared around her. "But you're...going...down!!" With that, everyone in the area covered their eyes as the light brightened. "TERRIERMON EVOLVE!!!" The light dimmed down to show a brown-furred mammal with a more elongated body and a stubbed tail. It's oversized feet tensed but seemed out of place compared to the fact that its ears ended in metal blades while its front paws were replaced by metal gauntlets that ended in red elongated claws. "PRAIRIEMON!!"

The prairie dog suddenly crouched before dashing forward at high speeds, ramming its claw straight into Golemon's rock-hard body, not even putting a crack in it. More annoyed than anything, Golemon swatted Prairiemon away, only for it to flip onto its feet and turning its head in preparation for something. "Sonic Ear!" With a quick snap of its head, the bladed ear whipped forward and fired off a bladed sonic wave that cut right through Golemon's arm, barely grazing it.

Getting sick of the new Adult digimon, Golemon rushed forward, ready to strike it down once and for all. Prairiemon charged ahead in what looked like a suicide move. Prairiemon had nowhere near the physical strength Golemon had. Then, Prairiemon dove down and shoved it's claw into the ground. "Dimension Hole!" With that cry, Prairiemon vanished, leaving Golemon confused, before he stumbled forward, another Sonic Ear attack hitting its mark at his back. Golemon hit the ground, not necessarily hurt, but the attack was enough to anger him even more.

Prairiemon started up ready to finish Golemon up as he started to get up. Golemon felt humiliated that such a lowly digimon had gotten the best of him. He needed to show these punks where real power comes from. When he saw Tapirmon in reach, he knew where to get his power. He slowly reached out to grab the child digimon. Tapirmon barely had time to yell out in surprise when he saw it. Golemon got up and held Tapirmon out for Prariemon to see, which caused the prairie dog to freeze.

"No..." Prairiemon mouthed when she noticed her brother in Golemon's grip. That moment of hesitation was all Golemon needed to rear his arm back and throw a punch down on Prairiemon that virtually crushed the adult under it. Prairiemon cried out in pain.

"Prairiemon!" Tapirmon called out from Golemon's grip. Jorge and Clint both had to hold Victoria back from running out to her partner. Prairiemon slowly got up after that. "Attack!" Tapirmon ordered. "You have the power to kill him, do it!"

"But I'll..." Prairiemon started. Golemon immediately swung down on her again. This time, the prairie dog slammed its claw into the ground, disappearing and reappearing only a few feet away out of Golemon's reach.

"He'll kill me anyway!" Tapirmon yelled. "Just do it!"

"Just shut up," Golemon muttered closing his fist around Tapirmon and starting to crush the child digimon in its grip.

"No!" Prairiemon yelled, and looked like she was about to dash forward again, but was placed in front of her...a human hand. Prairiemon looked up at where it came from to see Jorge standing in front of her, shaking his head. "Jorge?" Prairiemon asked, wondering what the boy was up to.

Jorge slowly walked forward, staring blankly at the imposing feature. An unsettling scene that made people wonder what the boy was even thinking. Even Golemon, who was annoyed at the whole situation, was curious. "What do you want?" Golemon asked.

Jorge stopped, continuing to look up at the massive golem. If Jorge was capable of any emotion, even in a situation like this, it would be difficult to tell. However, his voice hadn't betrayed any emotion when he answered, but still sounded just as dangerous. "Leave my family alone," Jorge plainly told him.

"Or what?" Golemon dared. "What's preventing me from flattening you right here."

"Go ahead. If you're gonna kill everyone like you say you will, it's not like it's gonna matter," Jorge told him.

"Jorge, no!!" Tapirmon called out. "NO!!"

Golemon shifted to stomp on Jorge as if to prove a point, raising his foot above the boy. Jorge never shifted, standing his ground and if he felt fear, he still never showed it. "NOOOOOO!!!" Light erupted from Golemon's fist, stopping him in surprise. Tapirmon was growing within his fist, growing too large for Golemon to keep the grip he had on him. "TAPIRMON EVOLVE!!" As if being repelled by the energy Tapirmon was emitting, Golemon stumbled back, leaving Jorge untouched. Tapirmon grew massive into a large mammal, growing 4 legs ending as hooves that emitted flame. A tail grew out as well and as it grew into its pig shape, more flames emitted from its mane and tail, growing red and black tusks at the mouth. "BOARMON!!!"

Boarmon dropped to the ground, landing hard and towering protectively over Jorge. Boarmon gave a loud shriek before charging forward, slamming hard into the golem with the metal plate on its forehead. Golemon hit the ground once again purely pushed by the force Boarmon hit him with.

"Nose Blaster!" Boarmon called out as flames spat out from his nose, engulfing the golem. Golemon slowly got to his feet, not really affected by this.

He was immediately hit by another sonic blade as well as a ball of holy energy. Prairiemon appeared in a flash on one of Boarmon's side while Unimon landed on the other side. Both digimon looked like they had seen better days, but had recovered enough to move on their own power. Despite that, it now looked like Golemon was outgunned.

"Attack! Finish him off!" Clint called out, simply wanting this fight to end rather than out of malice. At once, the three adult digimon prepared to fire off their attacks, just as ready to defeat Golemon and end this fight.

"Desperado Blaster!!" A barrage of energy balls rained down on the trio. Unimon and Prairiemon almost instantly devolved having suffered more from the fighting. Boarmon was a little more stubborn, actually taking a minute to devolve back to child form from the damage he was taking.

A new digimon landed right in front of Golemon, this one much larger than even the golem. A humanoid figure with draconic wings arms and legs, however he also possessed insectoid features as well. Golemon didn't appear happy that the newcomer showed up, despite the fact that his life was spared. "Get out of here, Golemon," the new digimon spoke.

"PailDramon," Golemon glared. "Don't talk down to me."

"You don't want to die, do you?" Paildramon barked at him. "I'm sure you could handle these kids, but Were Garurumon would be a different story, would he not?"

Golemon went silent, before trudging off reluctantly. The children listened in, but didn't like the sound of what they had said, more digimon like them appearing? More hostile enemies? Or would they live long enough to see them even? At the moment, all they could think about was getting to their partners safely. They needed to get out of here now if they would be allowed.

"Don't think of moving," Paildramon warned the children, pointing his claw at them. "Not very smart to cross paths with any of my men."

"Nor is it smart for you to cross paths with me, Paildramon," another voice said. A humanoid wolf appeared fin the clearing the battle had recently created. The Piyomon that Clint and Jorge freed safely behind it. What surprised the children is the clothing he wore resembled Native American attire. "You know this forest is under my watch."

"Yeah, yeah," Paildramon said with a bored expression. "That doesn't stop me from protecting my men."

"That's supposed to prevent you and your men from coming here in the first place. I don't know what you're planning, but next time I find out they're here, I'm not going easy on them."

"Listen, I don't care about this place. I don't see why they have so much interest in it," Paildramon retorted with a scoff. "Fine, I'm outta here." Paildramon spread his wings before taking flight out of the forest.

The children had rushed to their respective partners at this point, and became nervous when Were Garurumon approached them. "Are you kids, alright?" he asked.

"We're fine," Clint told him, though he couldn't say the same for Patamon as he looked over his partner. "What's with that? Some kind of gang rivalry or something?"

"No," Were Garurumon shook his head. "I don't lay claim to this forest. I'm merely a shaman and guardian for it. Paildramon, don't be so quick to judge him. He's a bit misguided but he's not what he seems. The rest of his gang, on the other hand..."

"Easy for you to say," Clint said. "These guys right here have had a hard enough time with them."

The werewolf nodded. "It's not like I don't understand either. Something big is about to happen, and I don't know what. All I know is you kids are a sign of that."

"Why us?" Jorge asked. "My sister and I...we have enough to deal with at home. Why do we have to get dragged in?"

"If I knew, I'd tell you," Were Garurumon shook his head. "Honestly, I wish I knew."

Jorge stood silent before turning around, picking Tapirmon up. "C'mon, Victoria. We need to get home, now."

Victoria just remained silent, holding Terriermon close. She still seemed angry with her brother, but that still didn't change that he was right. All either of them knew was that this was going to be an uneasy trip home.

* * *

After having left the region, Paildramon landed near Golemon, making sure he was okay. An act that seemed to only serve to annoy the golem. "I'll be fine, Paildramon. You know you're too soft."

"I can still kill you," Paildramon muttered, a threat he only threw around when Golemon questioned his authority.

"You know we could kill Were Garurumon with no problem, why are you hesitating? We could take over this place," Golemon told him.

"I'm not interested. Leave Were Garurumon and the others to their own devices. As long as we don't bother them, they won't bother us," the draconic digimon told him.

"And what about those kids? You saw what they did to Revolmon and Aquilamon, didn't you?"

"Which they both deserved last I also heard. You attack those kids, they will defend themselves. Look, I don't know what you or the others are planning, but stop it. I never intended to rule anyplace." With that, Paildramon took off, flying off and leaving an even more peeved Golemon.

"Not like we ever listen to you," Golemon muttered as he tried to figure out his next move. Aquilamon will be blinded by revenge after having his eye stabbed out., while Revolmon has plans of his own. As powerful as Starmon is, he's still Revolmon's lapdog. That leaves him to do any proper planning to expand his own power.


End file.
